The present invention relates to composite core configurations, more particularly to those which are rib-stiffened composite hollow cylindrical configurations and which are high-damping in furtherance of dissipation of mechanical vibration and acoustic energy.
Composite materials are seeing increased usage in structural applications. Composite materials have inherent damping properties which manifest themselves when utilized as constituent materials in various applications. Accordingly, composite materials have been considered by the U.S. Navy for numerous structural applications wherein dissipation of mechanical and acoustic energy is required, e.g., underwater applications utilizing structures such as torpedo hull bodies, UUV hulls and submarine structures. For such applications, optimization of damping performance is desired in addition to necessary structural performance.
For many such applications, the damping requirements are sufficiently high that modification to the structural configuration is required, normally in conjunction with utilization of parasitic damping material. However, configurational modification is frequently undesirable in terms of time, labor and cost-effectiveness as well as the possibility that a given modification would compromise damage tolerance and other performance aspects. Moreover, parasitic damping treatment can undesirably increase weight or bring about debonding or other degradation which is counterproductive to damage tolerance or damping performance.